ARTICLE TOOLS

Abstract

The word animation derives from anima, meaning “breath” or “soul,” and animare, “to give life to.” Animation creates the illusion of life, and it does this through movement. There are two distinguishing characteristics: First, the image is photographed on film frame by frame, and second, in consequence the illusion of motion is created cinematically rather than recorded. In animation, a special camera is used that can photograph one frame at a time. Between exposures, the animator incrementally moves an object: It may be cels, puppets, clay, sand, or paper cutouts, but the basic principle is that the illusion of motion is constructed cinematically. That is, rather than photographing something that is already moving, movement is created in the camera through stop-motion photography, or the photographing of an object frame by frame (Solomon 1994, 5, 9–12).